Cancer-Related Rehabilitation Treatment at Physiocare Physiotherapy & Rehab Centre

Evidence-Based Therapies Offered Across Physiocare’s Ottawa Clinics

Each treatment below is selected specifically because it addresses the pathological processes triggered by cancer and its treatment — not because it is a general wellness modality.

DNS — Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (Available at: Westboro, Kanata, Stittsville)

• Cancer treatment frequently disrupts the deep postural stabilization system — the diaphragm, pelvic floor, and intrinsic spinal muscles — through surgery, inactivity, and neurological changes.
• DNS reactivates these inhibited stabilizing muscles using developmental movement patterns that bypass the voluntary nervous system, re-establishing core control at a neurological level.
• For cancer survivors experiencing trunk weakness, postural dysfunction, or difficulty initiating safe movement after prolonged treatment, DNS provides a structured, safe starting point for functional recovery.
• It is particularly valuable in post-surgical cases where traditional exercise-based core training is contraindicated in the early stages.

Explore Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization at Physiocare for further details on how DNS supports neurological and postural recovery.

Red Cord Therapy (Neurac) (Available at: Greenbank, Kanata)

• Following cancer treatment, neuromuscular inhibition — where the brain effectively “switches off” certain muscle groups in response to pain, surgery, or prolonged inactivity — is a common and often overlooked contributor to persistent weakness and movement dysfunction.
• Red Cord Therapy (Neurac) uses suspended, unstable sling-based loading to identify and reactivate these inhibited muscles without placing compressive stress on healing tissues.
• For cancer survivors, this is significant: the sling environment allows therapeutic loading at very low intensity levels, making it appropriate even for patients with osteoporosis, post-surgical fragility, or severe deconditioning.
• The vibration component of Neurac further stimulates proprioceptive pathways that may have been dulled by chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Learn more about Red Cord Neurac Therapy and its application in oncology recovery.

Myofascial Release (Available at: All locations — Greenbank, Carling, Westboro, Kanata, Stittsville, Barrhaven)

• Radiation therapy causes progressive fibrosis — a hardening and thickening of fascial tissue — that restricts local movement, compresses lymphatic and vascular structures, and generates chronic pain patterns far beyond the treatment site.
• Surgical scarring similarly creates adhesions within the fascial network, pulling on adjacent structures and disrupting movement mechanics.
• Myofascial Release uses sustained, gentle manual pressure applied to restricted fascial layers to release these adhesions, restore tissue mobility, and decompress the lymphatic pathways running through fascial planes.
• This makes Myofascial Release both a pain management and lymphatic support tool in the oncology context — addressing two critical pathologies simultaneously.
• It is safe and adapted for patients at all stages, including those with sensitive post-radiation skin and fragile healing tissue.

Craniosacral Therapy (Available at: Westboro, Kanata, Barrhaven)

• Chemotherapy and radiation exert measurable stress on the central nervous system, often manifesting as heightened neurological sensitivity, persistent fatigue, disrupted sleep, and cognitive changes sometimes called “chemo brain.”
• Craniosacral Therapy works through gentle manual contact with the cranial and sacral regions to reduce tension in the dural membrane system surrounding the brain and spinal cord, improving cerebrospinal fluid circulation and down-regulating the stress response.
• For cancer survivors living in a state of chronic autonomic dysregulation — where the nervous system remains “stuck” in a threat response even after treatment ends — Craniosacral Therapy provides one of the few physical interventions that directly addresses this neurological burden.
• It is particularly valuable when fatigue, anxiety, and sleep disruption are primary complaints alongside physical symptoms.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) (Available at: Greenbank, Carling, Westboro, Barrhaven)

• Lymphedema is one of the most common and functionally limiting consequences of cancer surgery and radiation, affecting an estimated 20–40% of breast cancer survivors following axillary dissection.
• MLD is the gold-standard physiotherapy intervention for lymphedema. It uses precisely sequenced, light-pressure manual techniques to stimulate the superficial lymphatic collectors and reroute lymph fluid away from congested regions toward functioning lymphatic territories.
• Unlike standard massage, MLD works specifically within the depth and pressure range of the superficial lymphatic capillaries — the only structures capable of absorbing interstitial fluid — making the technique highly specific to the pathology it addresses.
• At Physiocare, MLD is integrated into a Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT) framework, combining manual drainage with compression, exercise, and skin care for comprehensive lymphedema management.

Discover more about Lymphedema Management at Physiocare.

Pneumatic Compression (Available at: Westboro)

• In patients with established lymphedema or at high risk of progression, pneumatic compression devices provide adjunctive mechanical assistance to the lymphatic system between therapy sessions.
• Sequential pneumatic compression mimics the natural milking action of muscle contractions on lymphatic vessels — a mechanism that is impaired in cancer survivors with deconditioning or neuropathy who are unable to generate sufficient muscular activity.
• At Westboro, pneumatic compression is used alongside MLD and exercise to accelerate fluid reduction and maintain limb volume gains achieved in hands-on treatment sessions.

DOT — Deep Oscillation Therapy (Available at: All locations — Greenbank, Carling, Westboro, Kanata, Stittsville)

• Deep Oscillation Therapy is one of the few physical therapy modalities that has been specifically studied in oncology settings and found to be safe and effective for cancer-related lymphedema, post-surgical wound healing, and pain management.
• It generates electrostatic oscillations that penetrate deeply into tissue — reaching the lymphatic capillaries, fascia, connective tissue, and interstitium — without producing mechanical compression or heat that could aggravate inflamed or radiation-damaged tissue.
• In the oncology context, DOT reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines in tissue fluid, accelerates lymphatic clearance, softens fibrotic tissue, and reduces nociceptive pain signalling — addressing four distinct pathological mechanisms in a single, gentle intervention.
• Its unique safety profile makes it appropriate even during active treatment, in the presence of open wounds or sensitive post-radiation skin, and in early post-surgical stages.

Learn more about Deep Oscillation Therapy at Physiocare.

Ondamed — PEMF Biofeedback Therapy (Available at: Greenbank, Westboro, Kanata)

• The Ondamed system uses pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) technology guided by biofeedback (pulse reactivity) to identify and stimulate areas of the body exhibiting impaired cellular bioelectrical activity — a consequence of both cancer pathology and the tissue damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation.
• At the cellular level, PEMF therapy supports ATP production, membrane ion transport, and the regulation of inflammatory gene expression — processes that are suppressed in cancer-treated tissue and are foundational to tissue repair and immune modulation.
• For cancer survivors, Ondamed addresses the systemic, whole-body fatigue and cellular dysfunction that other physical modalities cannot reach, supporting the recovery of energy, circulation, and tissue vitality from within.
• It is used at Physiocare as a complement to manual and exercise-based therapies, helping patients who have “plateaued” in their recovery to break through persistent barriers to healing.

Explore Ondamed PEMF Biofeedback Therapy and its role in cancer recovery support.